Ice Giants
by c.caban
Summary: Two teenagers from a small Cimmarian village were cast out into the wilderness after a marauding hoard burnt their homes to the ground. On their quest for revenge they get caught up in the intrigue of court politics and a magic not of this earth. Follow their adventure from the hall of Crom, to the jaws of giant wolves, and into arms of beautiful women.


The Heroes of today are the gods of tomorrow-

"Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars." Robert E. Howard

Thanon and Mygnon Origin:

The bark of the war hounds preceded the clash of battle. Running scouts were the first to enter the quite mountain village ahead of war hounds decked in spiked armor. Assailing the quite morning with their murderous intent the warriors flooded in amongst morning fires and toiling villagers. The primal armor and war paint left no question of their purpose. This was a raid on the peaceful hamlet. A pack of mounted warriors follow the scouts and hounds with weapons out ready to kill. The villagers were cut down in their tracks and the huts they resided in were quickly set aflame. Soon the racket echoed through the snow blanketed valley. Mounted men with swords drawn ride hard into the unsuspecting hamlet seeking to wreak havoc on its humble residents and burn it to the ground. Arrows fly, swords slash and axes cleave the villagers with inhuman malice. Driven by the lust of their rotten god, these men of war clad in all black, burn the huts and slay the people, man woman and child. Blood stains the ankle deep snow.

Without knowledge of what was happening back at the village, the two teenagers ran back towards home upon hearing the din of battle. Thanon was the smaller of the two, with a lighter complexion, but his elders had always commented on his ability to reason under stress, was first to sense the danger back at his home. His companion, and friend, was right on his heels as Thanon raced home. Mygnon was the direct contrast to Thanon. Having almond colored skin and hair as black as night. He used strength to solve even the smallest problem. As the young men crested a snow covered hill that overlooked their village. They both cringed, the place was overrun with armed men slashing and killing their kinsmen. A dark army following the directions of their master ransacked their home. The Leader of the war band was a man of dark complexion and rode his mount bathed in the glow of a black sun with two snakes facing each other within a circle of black. This evil was not familiar to the pair of young Cimiarians. The army's leader had just beheaded the stoic mother of their young friend, Conan. The boy was separated from his mother's corpse and shackled. Mygnon struggled to break Thanon's grip to charge into battle to save his village, but Thanon had a better idea of their situation. They watch as the flames of battle raise higher, sealing the youth's destiny. They were now without a home or family. He tried his best to hold his larger friend down and not allow him to charge to his death. Thanon strained to drag his friend away from the site of their world being burnt to the ground. Mygnon scratched and clawed at the youthful arms clutching him, saving him from his own blood lust. Bloody furrows were dug across Thanon's arms. His strength was tested to its limits, but he held strong and made progress pulling Mygnon away from the hilltop vantage point. The skeletons of their families would bleach in the icy wind as the two fled the horrors of this ambush.

The surviving Cimiarians, no more that 15 summers, had little life experience outside of village life. They could trap and fish, as well as shoot a bow, and wrestle. But sword play just becoming part of their education. They had only just begun to train with the warriors of their village. Both wore wooden "training" swords but their daggers and arrows were real. They had been away from home the previous night, living off of the harsh cold land. Under the sweet star light, they had been hunting and eating their kills. So this trek away from their shattered world was met with some preparation and skill.

Leaving their Cimmerian village the comrades made north away from the carnage. Both attuned to the hardships of life in the extreme cold they made no stops until their home was far behind, and they could no longer hear the cries of the dying. Their escape was slow going but it seemed no one was on their trail. Soon the cloak of night descended on them and Thanon soon had a fire going. As they camped they lamented their families and friends. Unlike men of their village who would not have: only cursed their god and moved to exact revenge. Thanon, called the 'Owl' buy his mother and the other men in the village, his cunning and ability to use experience as a learning tool made him a stand out in the community. Mygnon was dubbed the 'Bull,' because used his strength and his rage for every challenge that came his way. The following day they were greeted by the soft winter sun. There was not a cloud in the pale sky and the only shadows to be seen were the haunting trails of the bare winter trees across the untouched snow. The two traveled in silence over the mountainous terrain, heading in the direction of the previous night's northern lights and the North Star. Their flight in to the woods was not totally blind, for this was their country and the land was that of their ancestors. Thanon had heard many a story of the northerners and their hospitality as well as their penchant for raiding and plunder. This trip would set them on a path to return the violence; they had witnessed upon their families, on the horrid attackers and in turn their families. If they could make good with North men and enlist them to return and fight and rain fire and sword down on the heads of the riders in black.

Everything in their world had been ripped from their chests and as they trudged through the ,now, knee deep snow the each grimly thought of their loved ones. Mygnon bit his bottom lip to the point of it bleeding down his chin. His eyes bloodshot with rage, his teeth grinding his flesh, the blood dripping into the snow as he took each crunching step. Thanon a few strides a head had not seen his mate's anguish as he was dealing his own in his own intrinsic way. The vision of his entire world engulfed in flames captured his thoughts to the point of obsession. Soon the sun ducked behind the bare trees the sound of their tromping through the snow was cut by the howl of a wolf. This was an especially deep howl and from the resonation in their hollow stomachs it was very close. The lonely howl seemed to shake the trees. Turning to look at his partner, Thanon saw the blood trail down Mygnon's chin, chest, and down onto his legs. If the wolf had smelled blood it soon would lead his pack to them. Thanon thought.

"What have you done?" Thanon cried, "You've bled yourself and from the look of things, called that wolf to us!"

Mygnon ground his incisors into the lip further, pupils swirling in his eye sockets

"Brother you have to..." Thanon tried

Mygnon crouched, drew his wooden sword and leapt past Thanon's left side. A blur of motion where he once stood. A huge fight ensued within a foot's length of Thanon's backside. As Thanon turned he saw his companion hacking and slashing at the humongous wolf. With his right foot stepping back, Thanon made space from the fight, to draw his training sword and then to step back in with a devastating thrust to the wolf's flank. As the giant beast curled its body to react to the thrust, with an ear splitting yelp, Mygnon drove a two handed thrust of his training sword into the ear of the blood thirsty wolf...dropping it instantly.

Both young men stood over the hulking corpse, panting like a common cur.

"Hungry?" Mygnon asked with a broken, bloody, grin. Thanon's eyes almost popped out of his head. He can see the sever look on his brother's face, but to hear him make a light hearted comment after this attack was a shocking moment. This was a bleak situation and the thoughts of family and home were clouding their judgment. It seemed that Mygnon had used jest to lighten the mood, something he was not well known for.

They tried to cut into the skin of the animal and they noticed that the knives they carried would not cut the hide.

"Put some back into it, "Mygnon taunted his companion.

"Try the part with the edge, " He jabbed again.

It was as if Mygnon had more smart comments than anything else at this point of his life. After several attempts Thanon tried to start a cut with a flake of flint stone he had been knapping as they huddled by the fire on the long winter nights. The flint started a cut at the mouth of the beast and soon Thanon had cut a long line from its jaw to the tail. A few more cuts and the animal was without its skin. Soon they both worked to skin the carcass, Thanon thought of the speed of the wolf's attack and the ferocity with which it was met, Mygnon was a beast himself. In the split second before he reacted, Thanon watched his partner bash the wolf's nose with two vicious blows with the wooden sword. Had Mygnogn not reacted so quickly Thanon would be a bloody mass on the forest floor. They both would.

They snow dried the skin and started in on the meat and teeth. Mygnon pried out all the teeth and collected the two front Dew claws. He filled a small leather pouch that also contained his one piece of silver and a few semi precious stones. Teeth now gathered he tucked the pouch and its gory contents into the furs he wore. Thanon started on the eyes only to be shocked to find they were amber... He removed both eyes and stowed them in his leather pouch as well, tucking the pouch away as Mygnon approached

They needed to smoke dry the meat and build shelter as well. The mountain backdrop was ever expansive. Crom's pale sky hung above the young men as they readied their provisions preparing for a journey; how far they did not know. The last remnants of the white sun warmed the furs on their backs as they toiled to make ready for the coming night.

The fresh meat was tough and not pleasing to the taste but it filled the belly. They both sat quietly in front of the fire, the sounds of the impending night rang in their ears. Deathly screeches, howls of unknown beasts covered the hill sides. The two youths had never had to be away from their family and the village for long. As hunters and budding warriors they would spend a few days on occasion out in the bush but always they had a home to return to. Soon Thanon started to recount his favorite tale of the Ape Men that lived north of the Arctic Circle. As he talked Mygnon's eyes darted from side to side seeking the source of every otherworldly sounds that came from the deepening darkness.

"Enough tales, this night is telling us that we are not in a safe place and need to keep our eyes and ears ready for anything," Mygnon croaked.

Nodding knowingly, Thanon quieted and drew his dagger, placing it on his lap

"If we continue over the peaks behind us, we should be on course to reach Vaneheim within a few days.

"Vaneheim?" Mygnon replies, "Vaneheim? We should return to the village and track the bastard's who burned it to the ground."

"We are but youths, and have no army to lead. They would cut us down in our tracks. We are lucky the hounds did not smell us up on that ridge. Had they, we would be dead or being lead away like the other children were."

"I'll not meet Crom until I hold the dark one's still beating heart in my hand," Mygnon says through gritted teeth. His blood was boiling at the thought of revenge upon the two headed snake and its warriors that raided their homes, killing their families.

"In Vaneheim we can find kings with armies that will help us, they will ride with us to settle the Dark One's debts. They will know of our loss and we both will rip the hearts from the heaving chests of the defeated." Thanon held the gleam of the fire light in his eyes as he plots the deaths of the men who took so much from them.

"Look at these," He hands the amber eyes of the Giant Wolf to his companion. "What say you of these?"

As Mygnon grabs the pair of orbs, his eyes grow in size…"By Crom's children! What are…?"

"The eyes of the wolf," Thanon cuts in.

Rolling the eyes in his hand the bull man-child is perplexed by the makeup of such strange eyes.

"They're unlike anything I have ever seen or held, "he says. "Perfect spheres…"

"As with I," Thanon said, "they have a quality I have never felt with amber, magical almost."

Mygnon puts one of the spheres up to his eye and looks into the fire. He is shocked to see a pattern like nothing he has ever seen.

"Look," he throws one of the eyes to Thanon. "Look through it, into the fire."

Thanon does and quickly looks at his companion. "Let me see that one," he says.

They switch eyes and are again shocked to see each eye has a unique pattern within.

"Witchcraft," Mygnon grunts.

Their inspection of the eyes is cut short by the crack of a dry stick just outside of the fire's light. In the deepest dark the pair sees the light of the fire reflected in the floating eyes of some unknown creature staring directly at them. As Thanon rises to his feet and turns to look directly at the specter, the_ eye_ in his hand passes in front of the fire and the pattern within is projected across the darkness. The geometric shapes were dancing across the forest wall; vivid hues of orange and amber accent the crossing patterns. The two young men are amazed by the scope and scale of the pattern on the dark backdrop. The shrouded creature gives a yelp and loudly runs away from their meager campsite. They could hear the rumble of the creature slowly fade as it raced away from the fire's light. The companions look at each other in wonder and proceed in holding the eyes up to the light, sending an amber glow across the night air. The rest the night was uneventful and hauntingly quiet. Their vigil ended with both young men dosing off to sleep.

The soft light of the dawn woke the pair from their sleep. The weak trail of smoke that rose from the previous night's fire was just enough to stir their sense of smell. Not a creature stirred and the only sound heard was the soft breeze whistling through the bare tree branches. Thanon, the owl, was still fighting for sleep as Mygnon kicked his haunches to roust him for the coming day. Thanon while lying on his furs pulled out one of the wolf's eyes and looked to the sun through it. Still covered in his furs his matted hair was tangled across his grimy face. The strange pattern was now wreathed in a rainbow of colors not seen by the light of the fire. He uncovered his free hand and wiped the tangle from his visage. Whatever witchcraft created the wolf it had left its mark within the eyes he now had in his possession. They soon were both up and moving on their way North. The mountains to the Northwest were capped with dark misty clouds. Only the white peaks of the massive mountains poked out atop of the gloom. The two were going to crest the mountains and follow the rivers on the other side to the North to Vaneheim. The trek would be arduous and they would need all of the energy that the wolf's retched meat would provide. As they climbed, the snow deepened making the climb impossible for an average man. Cimmerians were known as exceptional climbers and hunters. The pair had hunted these woods since they were in their first 10 summers but had never been this far to the mountain sides. Mygnon used his wooden sword to help drive him forward as Thanon used his unstrung bow. As they climbed the looming darkness of the gloomy cloud began to devour the sun's light casting a pall on the trekkers. The only creatures in this wilderness were a pair of black birds that flocked to the carcasses of the dead. Unsettlingly, they followed the pair of young men in their climb to the peaks.

"If one of those damned birds lands I'll pin it to the snow with an arrow," Mygnon mused.

The darkening light made vision on the mountainside bearable to the climbers, that and their ice blue eyes that were adapted to the harsh snowy conditions of Cimmeria. Never had a Cimmerian gone Snow Blind.

With the bare trees in their background they climbed ever higher. Soon Thanon noticed structures in the exposed rock to their right. His eyes, much sharper than his partners, began to pick up hieroglyphs in the bare rock. As they drifted their path to research these rock formations, Thanon began to see shapes he recognized from his youth. As they got close enough to see all of the carvings in the rock they noticed the rocks were shaped like a rectangle jutting out of the snow. The monolith continued up towards the peak of the mountain. Mygnon stumbled as he released a curse to Crom.

"There are stairs under the snow." He tells his travel mate.

Why were there stairs up this high in the mountains? Thanon mused. They were a half days climb above the trees and other than the damnable ravens they were all alone in the snow. The stairs gave them rise in the snow pack making the rest of their climb much easier, even the lack of heavy forest air was not a factor for the two. With night closing in on them they continued to climb, even higher into the fog that engulfed them. Soon the shaped rock ledge split into the shape of a bent tree with an arm cutting across their path and an arm continuing to their right. At the end of the left escarpment was a carved Hammer and to the right an Anvil. This was like nothing the young men had ever seen before. Their path crossed over the outcrop and continued up the face of the mountain.

"This is starting to look like something I know of, brother,' Thanon calls out.

"The hammer and anvil are from the old stories of Crom…" He stops climbing and looks back down the hill side. Below as his eyes follow the rock outcropping down the slope he notices a large field strewn with monolithic rock formations they had not noticed before. This was an ancient burial field. Massive stones formed several circles on the flat plane.

"Crom's goat?" Mygnon stops to look at Thanon. "You think this is Ben Morgh?"

"We are draped in a deep gloom and this is the Eastern side of this mountain. My Mother would oft tell tales of the Field of the Dead and that is was in these mountains. That is the Great Burial Grounds of our ancestors." He points down towards the rocky plain below as the cold winds whip their hair and furs about them.

"Crom," Mygnog says with a harrumph. Then he shakes his head and starts to climb again.

Thanon, rolls his eyes to the sky and follows suit.

"Where are the ravens?" Thanon notices their watchers are not circling overhead. The birds had been in the air, over head since they left the limited cover of the bare trees. Neither making a sound nor straying too far, the birds had circled the two for most of the day. At times, the climbers only seeing their shadows on the snow as they made headway up the mountain side. They were now nowhere to be seen.

"I guess it will be wolf's meat again tonight Mygy," Thanon says with a dry smile.

"Maybe for the best brother, I hear raven is horrible to eat."

The snow begins to thin as they make their way over the rune covered formations. Mygnon leading the way picks up his pace.

"We'll need to make a fire and bed down soon, the night spirits will be upon us soon." The sun had crossed behind Ben Morgh's peak and the climbers were being covered in the increasing darkness. A few crunching steps farther up and Mygnog vanishes into the snow.

Thanon follows into the hole to grab his companion; they are both covered by a dump of heavy snow.

As the two gather their wits, the notice they are in an immense cavern. From what they can see in the dim light, the walls are covered with runes and there is a carving of a Hammer and Anvil on both walls at the entrance of the cavern they had stumbled into. They decided to proceed into the chasm and to get away from the snowy hole they had fallen into. The runes of the wall looked familiar to the young men but neither could make them out.

"Let me strike my flint and get some light in here," Thanon says to his friend.

"And warmth," The larger of the two replies.

After a few failed strikes Thanon has a small spark that lights his stored tinder, and he soon has a pitch torch burning. As a young precocious hunter, Thanon has many stored items in his furs.

The light of the torch carries to the far reaches of the subterrane. In the depths they see a huge looming figure and they approach. Before they can make out the exact details of the figure the call of a raven echoes throughout the cavity. Flapping wings are also heard. The faint light sphere first enlightens the stern, wide, face of an ancient man.

As the statue comes into light they both exclaim "Crom!"

It was the effigy of their god, Crom. They were in the hall of their ancestors and in the presence of mighty Crom himself.

His braded beard draped the front of the statue, from his face and falling between his seated legs. The glint of the torch gave life to the carved beard of the deity. The helmet was flanked with vertical wings and in his right hand he held the pommel of a great sword as it pointed to the base of the sculpture. Crom's left had was open and palm up, resting in the palm were two ravens, possibly the two that followed Mygnon and Thanon this day. His mighty throne was flanked by the heads of wild boar and bears on the armrests. The high back of the throne was the form of two rearing horses with their hooves extending up near their faces.

"Crom," They both exclaim with reverence.

"I wish I remembered the stories my mother had told me, now in front of our god…. I, I.. am without thought."

"Me, I'm hungry," Mygnon says, hitting Thanon in the chest with the back of his hand.

A fire pit located at the feet of mighty Crom was mysteriously stocked with fresh split fire wood. Thanon's torch was stolen by Mygnon and tossed into the fire pit against Thanon's will. With Mygnon's strength, he easily snatched the torch from his smaller friend.

"Stop your whining, you are in the presence of Crom himself," Mygnon says with a smile, and follows the statement with a punch to Thanon's gut.

Thanon folds over from the blow and slips down to one knee and with an "umph" picks up Mygnon by both of his legs and dumps him on his back in the lessening darkness. From the floor of the sanctum the two watch as the fire climbs up the stacked logs in the fire pit. The flame becomes a blaze with the tips of the fire licking the cold air, as it climbs up the logs. The walls become alive in the growing light. Crom's features are now completely visible to the two. From grappling position they rise up to their feet as their eyes follow the fire up to the red and yellow tips dancing in the calm air of the cavern.

Runes the two are familiar with take on new life in the hall of their god, the light brighter than any fire they had stood by before but with mild heat.

"If I don't eat, Crom will have me in Valhala tonight; get that horrid wolf's meat. I might die now!" Mygnon says with a slap to Thanon's chest.

"Valhala? Ha!" Thanon hits his mate in the crotch, folding him over. "You need to die in battle you oaf before you reach Valhalla." He says laughing. Thanon grabs the stored meat the two begin to eat while exchanging stories they can remember of their god.

Soon they are sated and lounging on their furs. Mygnon now finished was picking his teeth and singing songs of violent wars and fair maidens. An undertone of melancholy was resonating in his voice. He showed no sign of grief but the cracks in his singing told the story behind the words of the valiant songs.

Thanon pulls a flake of flint from his knapping stone and begins cutting the Wolf's fur that they tanned last night. As a boy of a single mother he was always in her presence, learning her crafts as well as the tasks of the men. There is enough hide from the giant wolf to make both of them capes, boots, and crude jerkins. With the remaining scraps he fashions a new loin cloth. The sewing was not happening with his silver needle but went smoothly after he switched to using a bone fishing hook he had squirreled away.

"My mother would come up here long ago, before she met my father."Thanon says while sewing.

Looking over his broad chest Mygnon replies with a questioning look. "You have a father?"

Thanon shakes his head laughing. "She was a maiden of Crom and every summer they would travel to the Field of the Dead and then up here to pray and honor Crom. One summer she and two of her mates were walking from the Grave field to the forest for gathering of flowers and food. My father was Vanir. That's why we travel to Vanaheim, if we find him or his people we will gather an army to return to our home and destroy the black riders and their cursed snakes!"

Vanir, I never knew," Mygnon replies.

"My mother thought it best that we not talk of him. Most Cimmerians think less of the Vanir because of their beauty and the ways of speaking in flowery words to women. My mother was smitten by him because she had never heard someone speak to a woman as my father had. Or they think of the brutish Vanirmen with their red beards and rough forged axes"

"Huh, flowers for words?" Mygnon's high cheekbones' blocking the fire's light, creating black pools for his blue eyes to swim in. "Why? I would show a woman my strength and throw her over my shoulder, make off with her to my bed and…"

"And what my brother? Bash in her skull?" Thanon queried. "You may find a time when the words of songs about nature will help you bed that unfortunate girl with whom you set your heart to"

Not happy with Thanon's girly gifts of speech, Mygnon throws a found pebble at him and laughs from his belly." I'll stick to strength, you can use flowers."

They continue to eat and talk late into the night. After some time they both slept, Thanon tossed and struggled in his dream with the giant wolf with its eyes projecting beams of orange light from them and is chased him through the dark forest. The Wolf was crushing trees and huts alike in chase of the tiny Cimerian. The beams of orange like beacons of magical light seem to track his every move. Mygnon, on the other hand, dreamed of scantily clad females as he carried them off to his bed and in places beyond the imagination.

Mygnon was startled awake by a dream girl slapping his face, only to open his eyes and see one of the ravens flapping its wings in his face, the fires constant light illuminating the scene. The bird had descended and landed on the pile of furs Mygnon rested his head on.

"Damn flying rat!" He croaked, the sleep thick I his throat. The bird quickly takes off and again lands on the mighty palm of their merciless god. Stirred by the flapping wing he pulls off his wolf cape and walks to the entrance of the cave. As the morning's light was fighting off the deep black of night, a purple shade rose from the East. Soon he could see the shadows of the trees below dance on the white back drop of the snow covered landscape. In the cover of the Ben Morgh's gloom he could not see as far as their village nor even make out its direction from this vantage point. Thanon was the one with the directional awareness, Mygnon the strength to shave a bear with a spoon but only if he could find it first.

As the eastern sun rose higher in the pale sky he turned to wake his sleeping companion. The sun's glow reached the back of the sacred hall, seeing the full figure of Corm. The sun's rays cutting through the gloom casting hues of orange and violet across the cavern. Mygnon took a moment to drink in the view of his people's god, eyes now alive with the light of the rising sun. He also noticed several piles of what he thought to be offerings to Crom. Wooden horses and other live stock, or mock weapons of enormous size filled the bulk of each pile. He made his way over to one of the piles and pulled a humongous wooden hammer, more than half the length of his body, free and held it in his oversized adolescent hands. The grip of the hammer was a perfect fit for his strength and he was soon swinging the mighty hammer in circles in the combined light of the sun and the raging fire. His grunts and exhales finally stirred Thanon.

"What have you there? " Thanon again slow to gain his wits in the early morning. He soon looks to see his surroundings only to be mystified by his friend's blasphemy.

"Where did you get that? From an offering pile?!" His sleep filled eyes now bursting from his head. As he gains his feet he has to duck or be crowned by a horizontal swing of the massive hammer. As Mygnon takes a return swing on the same path from a Backhand position, Thanon leaps in, on instinct alone, and jams his friends arm stifling the coming swing of the weapon. Leaving them nose to nose, Thanon then pushes Mygnon back away from him.

"You were trying to kill me? This is no place for your jokes, are we not in the hall of Crom himself?"

"You hit me in the balls last night, I owed you one," Mygnon smiled with a devilish smile his eyes shadowed by his pitch black hair. "Look at all of these weapons, if he is the god we claim him to be, would he not bless us with the use of some of these to claim our revenge on the black riders who killed our families and burned the village?"

"Well said, friend," Thanon's curiosity now peaked by his growing awareness of the hall and its contents. He soon has uncovered several quivers of arrows of an unearthly girth. It took his and Mygono's strength to string the bows that complimented the arrows, but only Mygnon could draw the bow to its full length.

Mygnon knocks an arrow, with a _thunk,_ and drawing the bow full pull he releases the arrow with a resonating sound that rings in both of their ears, as they watch the behemoth arrow stick into the wall of the cave. Into the carved rock without so much as a splinter breaking off. Both of their jaws drop open and their gazes come together. As their eyes meet, they bust out laughing

"By Crom's unguided children! That's an arrow! What types of magical strength do these wooden weapons posses?"

"Mygnon let's make uses of these for sure. Gather what you can easily carry and I will do the same. We must hurry to take advantage of the daylight we have as you have slept through most of the early morning." Thanon hits his companion in the crotch and springs away to a pile of offering weapons.

As the two pack their offerings and supplies into their newly fashioned furs they leave behind their old furs and their training swords and hunting bows. Thanon had found another sword made of an Iron Wood that was a good compliment to his size and abilities, and Mygnon kept the hammer and both shouldered a bulging quiver and an _offered_ bow. They made their way to the mouth of the cave looking out through the black haze at the clear day, as they step out into the snow Thanon looks back to see the fire has not only been quenched but the logs in the pit look uncharred.

"As whom came Crom  
hither to the land of men?  
A fish from the torrent of enemies swimming,  
A bird against troop of enemies screaming," Thanon recites an ancient poem his mother had taught him many winters ago.

Their trekking across the peak and down the Western face of Ben Mogh was easier than the one the day before. Though bearing heavier burden they felt as though their god had blessed them with some of the tools they would need to reap their revenge. The snows on the Western face were also much lighter than the Eastern face making their way like they were crossing a meadow in the bloom of spring grasses. Not a foot fall was wasted in moving them forward toward their goal, Vanaheim. As they footed the hallowed mountain they were greeted by a forest much different that then one of their land. The trees not bare in winter but dressed in needles of varying lengths. Having never seen such trees they stopped to inspect these unworldly woods.

"Their sticky?"

"And taste of shit,"Mygnon spits out a hand full of freshly plucked needles that were shoved into his mouth.

"I do like the smell. Like nothing I have ever seen." Thanon was inspecting a low hanging branch of a tree at the leading edge of the forest.

The call of a Raven drew their attention to the top of a tree farther into the forest, and then another.

"Our friends have joined us, it seems," Thanon looks to Mygnon and nods in the direction of the birds. "They maybe are here to guide us on our quest?"

The two continue to march deeper into the thickening wood. The trees start to enclose the two as they travel and soon the towering peaks of Ben Morgh are not to be seen. Most of the trees bear a red berry and some larger cones. The wildlife mostly nonexistent on the Eastern forest is bustling in the western woodland. Little furry critters burrow under foot and larger ones climb the trucks of the mysterious trees, hiding in the needled limbs. As the sun passed the tops of the tree line and the trekkers were beginning to make plans to bed down, Mygnon felt a rumble in his gut.

"Thanon, I… I need to stop."

"We have much ground to cover, why stop now, is your hammer weighing you down?"

In reply, Mygnon wretches the contents of his belly onto the path he was cutting, setting Thanon on alert.

"What has bewitched you brother?"

Mygnon drops the hammer and falls to one knee. He soon wretches again.

"I can taste the damned tree!" He says before hurling another flagon's worth of his stomach's contents onto the snow before him.

"What sort of Tree would make you sick," Thanon openly wondered. "Those Needles?"

The light of the day was passing from the forest and Thanon hurriedly made preparations for a fire and gathered his pouch of items to look for something to help his ailing friend. Before the black of the night closed in on the pair their ravens were perched above them in the boughs of a needle tree, preening their feathers.

With the light of the fire dancing on the forest wall, Thanon can see the hurt on his companion's massive face. This would be a long night indeed.

With a loud call one of the ravens dove from their perch and settled next to the fire. Hopping around the fire the bird looked to be inspecting the burning contents of the blaze. Thanon could see the intelligence and well as a deeper understanding in the fire's reflection in the dark bird's eyes. Soon the hoping stopped and the bird dug its beak in to the fire and retrieved a burning limb about a thumb's girth. With two flaps of its wings the raven leaped over the fire and landed next to Thanon. It carefully dropped the burnt stick at the human's feet. When the limb hit the snow it broke into many small pieces of charred matter.

"The Coals!" Thanon exclaimed after several minutes of pondering the bird's intention. Thanon's mother, as a Maiden of Crom, had used many natural methods of healing members of the village while she was alive. He now remembered her using coals from a fire mixed with water to calm an upset stomach and more to the point help with the effects of natural poisons. He soon was mixing the coals with a handful of the light snow he could gather off the earth. Within a few minutes He was pouring the retched mix down his companion's ragged throat. At first Mygnon spit out the concoction, as it burned its way down his ragged throat. But soon he had consumed the entire contents of the drinking pouch Thanon had poured the mix into.

"What next? That bird's shit?" Mygnon was not too happy about the taste of the coal but soon felt that his insides were calming down and again closed his feral blue eyes and drifted off to sleep. While Thanon was tending to Mygnon the Raven returned to its perch and along with its mate began to watch the young men intently. The pair of birds looked down from the needled bough they sat on, a white marking was clearly visible on one of their breasts.

Deep thoughts of his mother lead Thanon to the brink of sleep. His body was relaxing as if her were in a hot bath and within that bath were soothing herbs and calming hands welcoming him into the fearless sleep of a Cimmarian Hero. He relaxed further and was soon up to the tip of his nose in the steaming hot bath, the hands had become embodied and the figures of several nubile young women were caressing his skin and his face with their unearthly touch. As he fell even deeper his body was like that of a wet cloth, without form of structure and his mind was finally at peace, he dreamed of a huge grin crossing his face as his still conscious ears detected a noised not associated with his birds or his friend.

With the realization of an outside entity in his sleep, he jolted into a paralyzed state between sleep and consciousness. The grip was maddening, He struggled with all of his strength and he tried to gain his wits, and he tried to thrash about. The birds joined the frenzy with loud echoing calls to break the hold his mind had over his body. As a Mighty Roar erupted from deep in his chest the Young Man burst to his feet swinging his fists out away from his chest. Crazed eyes and gritted teeth were soon pointed at the specter of a huge figure at the edge of the fire's light. With the light of the moon fighting its way thought the dense forest canopy, Thanon could see the silhouette of an arched back, prickly hair and ears of another, humongous wolf staring at him. Within the unworldly blackness of the animals shadowed body Thanon could see the amber eyes he was so familiar with.

One step then another, the wolf moved forward in its hunting posture, looking to rip Thanon and Mygnon to shreds leaving only bones to litter the needled ground, under the mid winter sun. Another deafening call from one of the Ravens sounded like the word "Bow" to Thanon. Without looking away from the beast Thanon dropped to one knee and patted his hands around until he felt the handle of his already strung bow and the quiver was wrapped around its upper limb. He gripped the handle of the beautiful weapon and grabbing an oversized arrow, shook the quiver to the ground. Not losing sight of the Wolf, Thanon noticed it had crossed into the fire's circle of light. Teeth longer that his fingers were chattering with intent to kill and a yellow drool ran from both sides of the hulking animal's mouth. Within 10 paces Thanon raised the Bow and knocked the arrow, quickly he remembered he was not strong enough to draw the bow earlier in Crom's lair. He shoved the thought out of his mind and gripping the string, below the arrow's knock, pulled the bow with his hand in a fist. Its weight was too much for him to draw. The wolf stepped forward another step. He strained to pull the string harder, moving it closer to his face by only inches. The wolf stepped again, now sniffing in the direction of the prone and unconscious Mygnon. Another… Step… Forward. Thanon drew on all of his Cimmarian strength and pulled feeling his muscles rip under the strain of the feat he was attempting. The followers of Crom had made the bow for their merciless and powerful god not some aging boy with a penchant for tricking his elders. As Thanon strained more the heft bow creaked with his efforts, the wolf was not 8 paces away and just on the other side of the fire from Mygnon. Thanon's rage was bursting from his brain and muscles, he could hear his teeth gritting as he was grinding them to powder. With a primal scream he pulled without regard for his health, he pulled. As the wolf sunk down to pounce on the recumbent Mygnon, Thanon willed the strength to draw the bow and with an exasperating exhale he released the arrow into the path of the bounding wolf, striking it and sticking in the animal's rib cage, sending the beast hurling through the air away from Mygnon. The animal's cry was as loud as any sound he had ever heard and soon the beast was charging away from the fire and the boys with every ounce of strength it had. The wounded Animal's cries resonated throughout the forest echoing in Thanon's brain.

"Well you are a Cimmarian after all, " Mygnon croked, after being brought out of his slumber by the horrifying calls of the dying wolf. The ravens too joined in on the symphony of chaotic sounds. One of the birds swooped down and landed on Mygnon's shoulder. The white blaze across its chest was quite visible from its new perch. Mygnon looked into the bird coal black eyes, seeing himself in the fire's light.

"Cute, little guy," He says and lifted a finger to touch the black bird.

"Ouch! Why I should have crushed you," Mygnon screams as the bird flapped away, back to its tree bound hide.

"It pulled out my hair! I tried to pet it and it and stole my hair?" He looked confused.

"I think it likes you, they have been watching over you all night. That one helped me with the drink I gave you at twilight." Thanon replied, a smile crossing his youthful face. "You feeling better?"

"I feel like a Stygian whore…"

"Say no more friend, I will just guess that that is bad." Thanon's smile continues to grow.

"The shrieks of that wolf carry through the forest. That sound it is shaking my bones," Thanon said looking at his infirmed friend.

"Aye, they woke me from a sleep of the dead. I was back before Crom, he leaned down from his mighty throne and looking through me asked if I knew the discipline of steel… I did not, I just shuddered. Not saying a word. He leaned back in his throne and with a scowl nodded his massive head. I could hear the ravens and I felt the wings flapping on my face. It was like I was being pummeled in training. The cries of the wolf brought me out of the dream and I wake to see a pair of teeth flying at my face." His eyes widen, his feral features glowing by the fire light. "Then, 'Woosh!' The Wolf was gone. I could not see far enough at that point to see what had happened, but I did see you holding that bow that vexed you so."

"I pulled with all of my strength; I could not allow that beast to feed on you, or me for that matter. Tomorrow's dawn we should track the cur and take what we can, that huge pelt will gain us wealth in a village." Thanon said nodding, Mygnon agrees.

The pink light of dawn worked its way through the boughs of the great yew trees sending a faint light on the now dead fire. Mygnon was again first to rise, but this day he was not a jovial as in previous morns. His insides were still ablaze with poison and his bones hurt from end to end. As he gathered up his meager belongings, he grabbed the handle of his great wooden hammer. Just holding the bludgeon gave his arms strength, as he gripped the leather handle tighter his oversized knuckles ran white with the pressure.

Soon he felt his whole body fill with the strength of a Cimmerian, the poison was leaving his hulking frame. He could feel the power of the battle hammer he held run through his body. Looking at the details of the hammers constructions he saw runes of all shape and design, none of them could he understand. His body now free of the ill of the last night, he began to swing the mighty hammer. First with a sword grip, but after a few swings he felt compelled to hold the weapon with his right hand at the base of the handle and wrap his left hand over the right. With both hands in the same location he found he could swing the maul and the weight of the head would keep it moving effortlessly. He started to move his feet like he had learned back in the village, from his elders, in sword training. Now he was shuffling back and forth and side stepping, all the while the huge hammer head was swirling around his body.

Thanon hearing the grunts of training opens his sleep crusted eyes to see his friend moving like a Kothian Sword dancer.

"What magic posses you, my friend," Thanon asks through the sleep still plaguing his head.

"This hammer is speaking to me," Mygnon returns with a wolfish grin. "I can feel it making me stronger. The more I wield it, the stronger I feel…"

"That might be death for you both, "A strangers voice rings out across the camp site.

Both Mygnon and Thanon look to see a group of Warriors facing them, bows drawn and swords out.

"You child put down that toy," the bearded man in the center of the group calls out. "And you, you stand up, come from under the pelts first,"

"This is but one pelt, and how is it you have come to disturb our morn?" Thanon still groggy spits out a reply to the hairy stranger. He looks and sees the eyes bulging out of Mygnon's head and the rage of his Cimmerian blood starting to make him shake.

Another of the strangers points his knocked arrow at Thanon's bow and quiver.

"Arctel, how is the boy under 'One Pelt?' they are both close to our size and the pelt covers him from neck to toe. The Archer, Tarmey, asks the leader of the band.

"Fine question Tarmey," Arctel then turns to Thanon, "How did you come by these large wolf pelts? A wolf big enough to cover you would be no easy prey."

"This is less than half of the pelt, I made our clothes out of the rest of the pelt we got from the wolf we killed a few days ago on the other side of the mountains, a few day's walk from our home valley."Thanon spoke

An arrow was errantly released into the tree tops as the men of the war band reacted to the lounging youth's statement. Tarmey's mouth hung open.

"Thanon, look, I don't think they believe you." Mygnon said as he began to walk over to Thanon's side, the pale light gleaming in his ice blue eyes..

"Hold, One Wolf!" Arctel bursts out of his silence. "Where?"

"Across the dark mountains deep in the forest, 3 days trek from our Valley. It attacked at day's end and Mygnon killed it with a wooden sword." Thanon answered.

"A wooden Sword? Ha." Tarmey laughs and quickly lowers his grin under the scowl of Arctel.

"Where is this wooden sword?" Arctel asks his face twisting with confusion.

"I left it with Crom when I picked up this hammer." Mygnon speaks up.

"With Crom?" A more confused look crosses Arctel's visage

"On Ben Morg, a day's hike back, in the _Mountains of Gloom_, We fell into the resting place of Crom and we found these weapons, offerings to our great and powerful god." Thanon was quick to reply.

"And how did you kill this wolf with a wooden sword?" Arctel was getting frustrated with this encounter.

"I stabbed it in the ear and it dropped like a rotten limb from a tree. Then Thanon skinned it with a piece of flint."

"Flint! What? Why did you use _flint?_"

"The dagger I carry would not pierce the hide, so I tried a flake of flint I had and it cut right through, so we skinned it."

Each member of the group looked to Arctel in unison. Each nodding at the knowledge the youth had relayed to them unknowingly.

"Steel you say could not cut the hide? Your friend and you claim to be Cimmarian's so why the wooden sword? Should you not have an expertly forged sword?" Arctel inquired.

"We were training with wooden swords and by this summer coming we would have earned our steel. We carried and trained with the Iron Wood blades until that day, which is never to come…" Thanon trailed off in thought, thinking of his life which is now not but a memory. His chin lightly trembled. Then he steeled himself.

Arctel, a man of many summers, notices the sense of loss in the youth, "Why are you two out here? Where are the others in your party?"

"Alone, we are the last of our village, we are the last of our kind." Thanon slowly replies, eyes boiling, holding back their tears.

"A war party raided our village and killed or captured everyone we ever knew, now we are looking to gather an army and run them through," Raising his mighty hammer, Mygnon proudly says. "The black army with their two headed snake will taste our wrath."

"Two Headed Snake, say you?" Arctel's eyes were bulging from his quizzical gaze.

"Yes, a black snake with two heads that face each other above a flaming black sun," Thanon replied.

"Well the two of you are full of wonder and mystery, are you not? You will be a favorite of our Lord King Artos. Grab your_ pelt_ and we will get moving."

"Moving, to where?" Mygnon raises the hammer into a defensive position.

"To the River, lad. We will take you to the river to meet the Lord King and there maybe you will find your army for revenge." Arctel said with a cocked eyebrow and a slight smile.

Soon the hammer came down and Thanon and Mygnon gathered their belongings. As the group set off to the north and west, the Ravens leaped from their perch and with a loud series of calls swooped down over the group and lead the way.

Arctel looked to the pair shaking his black mane, beard brushing his chest.

"They are with us, the one with the white on his chest likes this Hammer Head," Thanon says as he smacks Mygnon in his private parts. The resulting punch to the back from Mygnon caused Arctel to place his hand over his face and curse his gods.

"Yes Artos will love you two."

The land from the back of the Mountains of Gloom began to descend and eventually flatten out. After a long day of walking with the hunting party Arctel had informed the pair he and his hunters were out looking for a magical wolf that had been plaguing the hills and valleys of their lands. Artos had sent them out after hearing of several farmers being mauled by the beast. Each attempt to trap or subdue the wolf had come up short. Tarmey, the best shot in the kingdom had several direct shots on the marauding beast and each time the arrow found no purchase. The trees they walked through began to look like none the Cimmarians had ever seen before. And the snow cover on the ground got lighter as they trekked. On the second day of travel they came across the foul stench of death. Within a few tense moments they crested a small bluff and in the bottom below saw a wolf's carcass that was the size of a warhorse. The dead wolf had a gigantic arrow jutting from its rib cage. As they inspected the corpse, Thanon noticed the eyes had liquefied and run out of the skull, looking like the broken yoke of a fresh egg. He shot Mygnon a puzzled look, Mygnon Reached down and pulled back the lips of the animal only to see the teeth had a sheen like polished steel, he could even seen his reflection in one of the larger fangs. He then reached into his jerkin and pulled out the teeth he had removed from the first wolf. They too were Sliver.

"This arrow looks familiar," Arctel says looking to Thanon, "Know anything about it?"

"We were visited the last night before you found us, by this hulk, Mygy was feeling sick from the Tree needles he had eaten and I was watching over him. As the beast came into the fire light I could see its glowing eyes and those teeth. I knew I had to kill it or it would be fat from our corpses." Thanon then raised his ritual bow, "I could not draw the bow before, and I thought maybe I could trade it if we found a village or town. But as the wolf leaped for Mygnon I somehow found the strength to draw the bow and loose the arrow. I struck it, as you see in the side, the force of the arrow's impact sent the cur flying out of the fire's light and the foul creature ran into the night yipping and howling."

Tarmey and Arctel exchanged glances of surprise and disbelief. The acrid stench of the decaying corpse was filling the noses of all the stood over the scene. Tarmey knelt down and drew the humongous arrow from the body of the wolf, as he did an extra waft of odor overcame him causing his eyes to water, after a curse to his gods he backed up and inspected the arrow. Like the others in Thanon's quiver, the arrow had a fire hardened wooden head in the shape of a cave dwellers arrow head. The gore on the arrow held the horrid smell and he tossed the cloth yard shaft to Thanon, "You may need this again… Although I suggest you clean it first."

While the others were watching Tarmey, Mygnon began to extract the canines of the upper and lower jaw, as he had with the first wolf, he cut a sideways glance at Thanon and quietly asked, "Should we tell him about the Eyes?"

Thanon, caught off guard by the question said, "It's best we show them to Artos."

As the hunting party moved west to the River, Arctel described the trading village of their origin. It was a hub of activity and a trading post for all of the goods flowing from Vanaheim and Asegaard down into Aquilonia and Zingara as well as the rest of Hyboria. They would see men and women of all tribes and races. They would be exposed to goods of all lands. If they had the ability to trade any goods they had or work for gold they could procure these exotic items and wears. Arctel mentioned selling the wolf's cloaks for gold but was met with a sinister glance from both of the young men. The Town of Copori would be their new home for the coming future. As youths in a world of sword and shield it was to be a safe haven for them until they could gather their resources and possibly an army of men to exact their revenge on the Black warriors. During their walk to Copori, Arctel told them the tales of Set and his Snake army of darkness that was plaguing the lands south of Cimmeria and across Hypoboria. Their blood boiled hearing the stories of the dark priests and their conquest of the northern lands. The Stygian rabble would be crushed and returned to their desert homes in the stomachs of the vultures that fed on the flesh of the fallen, if Thanon and Mygnon had anything to do with it.

Copori soon came in to view as the hunting party left the unworldly forest and entered the land of marsh and river. Sitting on the last hillock above the Bossoninan Marshes was the circular defense wall of Copori. Once a Pictish village Artos' father had driven the Picts back across the river and marshes and claimed the land for himself and his family. The skulls of the fallen Picts decorated spears every 4 paces across the top of the walls, many hundreds were slain to conquer this land. Artos was the current Lord King and ruled the area with fierce loyalty to his subjects and undying malice to any that would try to usurp his reign. Black smoke billowed from the rooftop openings of the huts outside the wall and as the group got closer to the city, they could see the massive scale of Artos' world. A short trail led to the docks on the river that flowed through the marshes. Ships and boats of many designs were moored to the wooden structures and people were in a mad rush to get boats unloaded or loaded, depending on their tasks. Copori was a hive of human activity and a first for Thanon and Mygnon. Their village had less than 100 villagers; here the number would have been in the thousands. The smell of roasted meats and spices soon filled their lungs as they reached the first of the stalls outside of the city walls. Famished, Artel stopped and gathered several sticks with some form of meat on it and handed two each to his young travel mates. At this point most of the hunting party had dispersed and gone about their business, only Tarmey and Arctel proceeded with the boys to meet the Lord King and bring the news of the giant wolves' new found vulnerability.

The Lord King's longhouse was a collage of many cultures. The inside was decorated with the fruits of Hyboria. Colums from Argos, Rugs from Shem and even a Zingarian Bull's head was hung behind Artos' throne. Acrid smoke filled the hall and retainers and slaves moved about the room as Arctel and Tarmey entered with the Cimmiarians. Artos was waiting for his top warrior to return from the hunt with either the body of the marauding wolf or news of its death, not two Cimmarians. His surprised face let the occupants know he was unnerved by this intrusion. They all turned to look at the intruders.

"Arctel, you leave and take my men to kill a wolf and you return with two boys dressed as wolves?" Artos bellows, "Not a very good trade." The hall erupts in laughter. Mygnon was not accustom to being the butt of any jokes and with a low growl started for the Lord King. Arctel, used his right hand to Mygnon's chest to stop his forward motion.

"Lord King Artos, my humble assurance that this is a fair trade indeed." Arctel says with a bow. As he straightens his back he crosses his arms across his chest and in unison swings both arms out and low, hitting the two Cimmerians in the cock, folding them over in a bow. Artos leans forward in his throne, shifts to the other side of his hip and shoots Arctel a look of complete dismay.

"It is how these two communicate, "Arctel replies with a sly smile.

"They have some news that might change our relationship with not only the wolves but their patron, " Arctel locks eyes with a glaring Mygnon, "Tell Lord King Artos about your Wolves' teeth…"

After a lengthy explanation of the Cimmiarian's flight from their village, the night in Crom's lair, and the death of the two wolves, Artos looked as though he would fall off of his throne. "I have ruled the Riverlands for more winters than a horse lives and I have never heard of such things, You have defiled your god, Stolen his offerings, killed un-killable magical beasts and have a pair of ravens that follow you everywhere you go?" As Artos declares, thatch from the longhouse's roof falls into his lap, as he looks up to see a raven burrow a hole in the roof. Wiggle through the hole and take a perch on one of the roof's support beams, quickly followed by another bird, with a white flash on its chest.

Artos raises a hand to the roof, in the direction of the interlopers and exclaims, "And now this, you two will have to fix that hole, or I'll be wet when the Spring rains hit." His exasperation was peaking.

"Lord King Artos", Thanon bending knee again addresses the ruler.

"I have something that might also interest you, before the first wolf had time to decay, I plucked out its eyes, They are hard like amber."

At the word amber, Artos, sat up straight

"We were looking at them in the light of the fire we had and soon saw that there are patterns inside, and with light behind one side the pattern was cast across the forest wall."

"Patterns you say? What patterns?"

Thanon reaching into this furs and pulls out an eye, and tossed it to Arctel. Arctel, looks it over and with a nod approaches Artos' throne.

"Put the eye to your eye, Lord Artos and look to the fire in the hearth," Thanon said softly. "You may have seen this pattern, Mygnon and I have not."

"By the gods!" Artos roars, pulling the wolf's eye away from his. "This, I have seen this pattern in the Southern Pyramids… Of Elada."

"Elada," Both young men exclaim in unison.

"He, young Cimmarians is the Giant that built the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, to our South. He has plagued our River lands since his arrival, near 20 winters past. He is a Fire Giant and he eats the Iron from the men he kills in battle."

"This eye should be seen by the Wotan, She will know better of the meaning of this pattern and this eye." Tossing the eye back to Arctel, Artos waves a hand towards Thanon, "You take this to the Wotan and have her use her charms on it."

Thanon, taking the eye from Arctel, bows and is led away from the long house by a massive Brythunian warrior in the Lord King's court.

"You, Cimmerian… You look to be more interested in using that massive Hammer you carry than using your head. You will find a home with my fighters and hunters until time is my roof is repaired and Imbolg has passed." Artos says with a nod and a grin." Find him lodging in the Training quarters and get him a proper sword."

"Lord Artos, I'll keep the Hammer," Mygnon said lifting the mass of the weighty weapon over his head in salute.

"We will see young one, now off to your new home boy."

As Mygnon and Arctel turn to leave Lord King Artos shifts again in his throne, soon realizing he is being rained on by more thatch from the roof, as he looks up he sees the tail feathers of a raven bugging out of the hole already created.

The winter inside the walls of Copori it was hot and filled with the smells of spice and human body odor. From the Kings hall Thanon was escorted to the Wotan's abode on far end of the city abutting the defensive wall. The front of the thatched roof hut was covered with a myriad of ritual drawings many of which Thanon recognized from his youth. In addition to the pictographs, antlers of many beasts and the skulls of men hung about the exterior walls. The Massive Brythunian escort was not much for conversation as they walked and as they arrived at the Mystic's hut he grunted as he shoved Thanon towards the entry. Thanon looked back at the large man and pounded his open hand on the door. The man stood motionless waiting for the door to open. Thanon looked about nervously not knowing what awaited him inside. As the door swung open Thanon noticed the Guard give a snort, turn on his heels and walk away. Behind the swinging door was the figure of a hunched over woman whom was clad in wolf's pelts and her head was covered with a rough woven hood, her blonde hair hung from the hood. A wildly painted hand reached for the frame of the door as the woman spoke in a rasping voice, "What have you for me?"

Thanon was still in a state of confusion over the entire event and had no answer for the Wotan.

"Why have you called upon my door young man?" She asked again

"King… Lord King Artos sent me to see you, I have.."

"Enough, Come inside, It stinks of death out here, " She cut him off.

Inside the hut the light was very faint with a few shafts of light slicing through the cracks in the walls. Dust danced in the light columns as she passed through them. "Close the door behind you, or the retched stench will follow you, She barked. Her gait was that of a withered old crone and the voice was equally wizened. A fire burned at the far end of the room and a set of benches were set to face the blaze. She had many strange and seemingly unused items laying about the room and the walls were lined with dried herbs and plants. As he followed her deeper into the room towards the fire she began to straighten her gait and by the time they entered the glow of the fire's light she had flipped back the hood. Her face was painted to look like it was covered with wrinkles but Thanon could see through the rouse. She quickly snapped her head towards Thanon and spoke in a deep husky voice, "What has Lord King Artos sent you to deliver me?"

"I have some Amber, well it looks like amber, from a wolf I killed in the forest," He stated.

"Amber does not come from wolves' boy," She retorted.

"Well after killing the wolf, I removed the eyes and, well, you can see for yourself." His reply was almost shy and boyish. He then handed her one of the eyes he had stowed away in his furs. Her hands began to tremble as she saw what was being handed to her. Her cold blue eyes grew out of their lids as she inspected the orb. Rubbing it and rolling it in her fingers she began to murmur to herself.

"Hold it up to the light of the fire," he said quietly.

She did and dropped the amber ball, "What is this magic? I, for the years I have been practicing have never seen the likes of this?" Her voice started to pitch higher in excitement. "The old gods and the new know nothing of this magic, and this pattern although known, is not of the human world!" She was bordering on exasperation. Her breath began to quicken and without warning she belted out an unearthly grown from deep inside her chest. The words she spoke were not known to Thanon but he had heard his mother sing a tune with a similar melody and he figured it was some form of incantation for either protection or of warding off evil. She dropped the eye onto the floor and continued to scream. The growl soon changed to an almost beautiful sound that reverberated in his ears. After her outburst, Masha bent and picked up the eye from the hide covered floor. The then found a perch on a small bench next to the fire. She sat smiling and shaking her head as she continued to examine the oddity.

She beckoned Thanon to tell her everything about their journey from their Cimmerian village to where he was sitting with her. As he did her eyes darted about the cluttered hut, her head jerked in amazement as he recounted the first wolf's attack and how Mygnon leaped into action. Her expression darkened over the telling of the night in Crom's lair and she began to murmur to herself again when Thanon told of Mygnon eating the Ewe tree needles, and how he retched several times. She did stop him and asked several questions about the Ravens that began to follow the pair. His story concluded with his meeting of Arctel and the hunters and how they encountered the fallen wolf.

"I have too many questions to even begin to ask, please help me by showing me your pelts; the wolf's other eye and your bow along with its arrows. I will need some time to rest my mind before I can form the proper notion of this entire situation." She said sitting back casting her eyes on the youth.

Mygnon was lead to the training quarters of the fighting men in Lord King Artos service. The barrack was long and divided into dozens of smaller open front rooms where the fighters kept their wares and slept. There were chickens and even a few children running about the barrack. Some of the rooms had windows facing out towards the city and allowed columns of light to penetrate the common area of the building. His stall was in the middle of the side that faced the walls of the city and was dank and dark. There was a small vent of a window next to the pile of straw he was directed to sleep on and within a few breaths the flapping of wings could be heard. His white breasted raven had found a perch in the window and was intently watching Mygnon as he settled himself on the straw. It was not long before the bird hopped down to his side to help him pick the nits from his bedding that began to crawl up his skin. He cursed every time the bird bit him too hard or hit a sensitive spot.

Before long the opening of the room was filled with the shadowed figures of several large men.

"Nice bird, wonder what he tastes like, "one of the men said to another hitting his friend on the chest, they all quietly laughed.

"That is a mystery for better men than you to find out," Mygnon said standing up and hefting his hammer to his shoulder. "This is my companion and I'll have you not make such comments about him, save to keep your teeth in your head."

"Boy, this talk will get you beaten and bloody with me, and I dare say my friends will allow the insult."

The man in the middle, doing all of the talking, quickly moved towards Mygnon. Without movement or forecasting he dropped the head of his hammer straight down on the approaching mans extended arm. The speed of the hammer's head gave it momentum enough for the head to come to rest on his shoulder again. The impact had fell the man in his tracks and he lay on the floor clutching his now swelling left forearm. The other two took a step closer to Mygnon but halted as the floored man rolled up onto a knee.

"I still have my teeth, right where they….."

Like lightning, the hammer's head crunched the man's jaw from the massive weight as it smashed into the left side of his face. The two men stepped back and grabbed their companion. They slowly walked backwards dragging the now unconscious man out of Mygnon's stall. He stood silent his chin lowered and his glacial blue eyes, glaring through his jet black hair, burned the intruders with undying malice. Each breath was like that of a caged bull. Shattered teeth and a pool of blood remained where the once aggressive man had been.

As the day grew into evening the cold ripped through the small window in Mygnon's stall, he was unphased. The sound of loud deep voices gathering around the barrack could be heard across the entire building and Mygnon rested on his straw he knew the voices were loud and cross because of him. His thoughts carried him away from this dank scene and back to his village. The sight of his friends and family being cut down by the black riders filled the void of his adolescent brain. The raven had taken a roost on the frame of the open window and occasionally shivered and fluffed its feathers in the cold draft.

As the voices grew louder the raven began to rock, it was an agitated sound and it brought Mygnon's thoughts back from the horror of his home to the here and now. Another outburst from the bird brought Mygnon up to a seated position in his makeshift bed.

"This child!" Bellowed a huge man through his food crusted beard. "This boy, took out one of my fighting men, and for what purpose?" He finished.

One of the companions of the felled man, head hanging low stepped into view of the reclined Cimmarian.

"He, and Fecht had some words…"

"Words," the large man interrupted, "What words did Fecht have with our young guest?"

"Fecht said 'e wanted to eat the bird and this one smashed 'is arm with that 'ammer of 'is."

"Hammer you say, Fecht is too fast for that"

"The boy is also fast, bopped 'em twice without a flinch, and that 'ammer looks 'eavy, " croaked the supplicant.

"Well boy, The Lord King wants you trained as a warrior, looks like you might have a leg up, I hear you're Cimmarian, so it will be easy to teach you to kill. But… I cannot have you crushin my men with your toe smasher there, so I will have to teach you some manners before you learn the fighting part. Gather your things boy and follow me, or that bird will be perched on your grave marker."

Mygnon did as the man had said, as he turned to leave the stall, he motioned for the bird to fly away, and whispered, "Go find Thanon and your mate."

The large man seemed impressed after seeing the bird fly out of the window. The group of men all turned and walked out of the barrack into the cold night. The breath of the men filled the air with white vapor, not a word was said as the procession moved from one block of buildings to another. Mygnon had never seen such places, all of the buildings seemed to house people and their families. They seemed packed in like rats on a ship to him. With the world as large as it is, it was funny to Mygnon that people would want to live so close to each other. A few more blocks had been passed as the leader of the group turned to Mygnon and said, "This will be home for a while, you can make up for fighting with some extra service to the Lord King." He turned back and walked to a massive wooden door on the side of a building. As the door swung open the heat from inside rushed out covering the men with a moist hot mist. The light from a huge fire was bathing the inside area in an orange glow causing shadows to dance across the walls.

"Here ya go, we will get you a bed and soon you will be working to satisfy the King himself." A slight smile cracked his face. Although slightly obscured by his thick dirty beard.

Inside, the room was extremely hot and the source of the heat was a huge fire set under a stone furnace. The furnace was flat and open on top. Mygnon soon saw what was to be placed onto the furnace when the sound of iron ringing off stone drew his eyes to a large staircase leading up into the rest of the building. As the noise grew louder he could see the unstable feet of two slaves, from Afghulistan. The pair was straining to carry a massive iron cauldron down the steep stairs. When they reached the bottom of the stairs they turned and with all of their strength hefted the cauldron up onto the fire's rock structure. As the pot seated into its groove the two slaves both doubled over and began panting.

"These dogs need food and rest," the bearded man barked, his pig like eyes cutting through the heat. Two of his entourage walked over to the panting men and straightened them up and took them deeper into the building. With a mighty grin the bearded man turns to Mygnon, "The pot will begin to fill soon, when it is full, you need to haul it up the stairs and dump the water into the trough upstairs. Let's go take a look.

As the two men ascended the stair case Mygnon was grim, He could tell this would not be a suitable punishment for his actions. He would have to tighten his belt and labor through if he were to exact his revenge. This was only a starting point, after all. At the top they were greeted with long flume that the contents of the cauldron would be poured into. A rushing sound filled Mygnon's ears and he turned and looked down the stairs out of curiosity. It was the rush of water filling the burning hot pot, and soon he was bathed in steam from the now boiling water. After looking over the dumping spot for the heated water, the bearded man described that the water was for the Lord King's hot baths and saunas. He also explained that if any of the water was spilled on the way up that Mygnon would be given a beating by his companions. The two slowly descended the stairs and Mygnon soon saw another Afghulistani slave looking fresh waiting for him at the bottom. Within minutes the cauldron was full and Mygnon was shown the correct way to hold the boiling pot, so as not to burn his skin off.

Arms wrapped in a loose cloth Mygnon spread his arms wide and gripped the massive iron pot with a bark from his cauldron mate the two lifted the pot from the fire and started towards the stairs. His natural strength was tested but when they reached the first stair, Mygnon put his full strength in to lifting the pot and pulled his fellow bearer off of his feet almost toppling the both of them. With a hint of amusement, the men from the barrack watched as Mygnon steadied the behemoth and allowed his partner to get his feet. As they labored up the steep stairs the leader of the bunch took his leave, after reminding the remaining men to thrash the young Cimmerian if they spill even a single drop.

Wearing a loose fitting smock and what felt like deer hide leggings, Thanon sat on the floor in front of Masha as she inspected his furs and the other 3 eyes he had procured. She rocked back and forth on her small bench and murmured to herself, weather in song or incantation he could not tell.

"This pelt is like nothing I have ever seen, and the eyes are from another world of magic all together," she said breaking her introverted inspection. "I know of nothing that could have created this material amber-like as it is. And the pelt is so strange to me, steel is completely resisted but a simple piece of wood or bone can puncture it like the skin on a bowl of cream. "Young man you are a wealth of questions… a blonde haired male Cimmerian, who raided and stole from the terrifying god of his people, with the ability to kill wolves that have vexed the Lord King for many years and here you are wearing these pelts and holding their eyes like toys. You have a bird that follows you, and from the sound of things outside, there are two of them out there meaning your friend has somehow lost control of his bird. Where to begin?" She said, eyes wide with curiosity.

Thanon smiled and shrugged shoulders.

"Now let me see your bow with its sacred arrows, "she said and he handed her the weapon.

"These runes speak of strength and redemption, it's barer must have the strength of Crom to draw this bow successfully. Your story of the wolf attack whilst your friend was sickened with the ewe needles makes me think this bow was not just a random pick up but that is was meant for you, to draw out your true strength. You are no longer a boy and after pulling the string and killing the bewitched cur, you are more man than most in this or any village I know of."

Her words made him blush, but he quickly soured his face, he didn't want to seem too boyish, after that.

"Now let's get the birds in here, I want to see these loyal companions, "she said rising from her bench. She led him to a window; she had heard the ravens mucking about outside of the shutters and assumed they would be close by. Upon opening the window to the elements and stink of the outside world the two birds quickly flew into the house and circled up into the rafters. Their chattering and rocking filled the abode with noise for a few moments. Soon the racket died down and the building was calm again.

"A white flash on a Raven is not usual in this part of the world, including Cimmeria. I have learned many things but a northern Raven with white patches is not from my teachings. The bond you two young men have with these birds also seems a bit strange to my ears, not often do these larger birds take up with travelers, a crow maybe but not a raven. It could be the stench of magic you two posses with these demon wolf pelts on your backs, or the audacity that you showed defiling Crom's mountain lair may have also been a factor. Ravens and crows like chaos. It could be your hair, they may want to make a nest of that fine golden yarn," She grinned, finally showing some of her feminine wiles as fire light danced off of her eyes.

Thanon was not shy around the girls of his village or of any he had met at the Spring festivals in the deep Cimmerian valleys but Masha was no village girl. Her knowledge was very attractive to him and the more she spoke the more her defenses began to drop. Changing from her Crone's dress and wolf pelt she was now wearing the exact same smock that she had offered him to wear in place of his pelts. She was quite casual with her young visitor. Her fingers continued to roll the amber, or whatever it was, eye around on her thigh as they spoke. He was doing his best not to be too awkward in her presence but as she opened up to him he began to see that she was quite beautiful, albeit with strong features of Karelian. They spoke long into the night; she offered him some strong sprits from Zingara, of which he spit out the first sip. After a rebuking from Masha he was able to keep his liquor down. The warmth of the fire and the warmth of the drink soon made Thanon drift off to sleep on the floor where he sat.

Mygnon's evening turned to night as he continued to drag his scrawny helper up and down the stairs filling and refilling the water cauldron. His companion would bend over with his hands at his knees every time they would return form dumping the water. As the pot would fill the man would pant with heavy breaths like he had spent the day running from wolves. Mygnon could not comprehend the fact that a man could live without any of the strength of a real fighting man. This would be a long night. As the pot filled he had time to study his surroundings where he found some aged horse tack hanging from the walls, soon his tattered cloth arm protection had been cast aside and he was now sporting thick leather horse braces and the leather straps to keep them tightly wound around his swollen forearms. His overseers thought it amusing that this large man-boy was dragging a small frail man with him as he trudged up and down the stairs with a massive weight in his arms. The Afghulistani would moan and cry to his god/gods in a babble that Mygnon didn't, nor did he care to, understand. As the pot was filled again, he gripped the sides of the bowl and making sure his partner was hanging on, started back up the stairs. Again and again without stopping, up and down stairs. The face's of the overseers changed several times through the night and Mygnon never gave it a second thought. He would have time to sort them out when he finished his trials with the bath.

Muscles ripping from their skin, he pushed through the pain, sweat making his grip slip only made him push more, not a drop of this precious water would hit the ground while he was on task. Not even paying attention to the condition of his companion Mygnon set the empty cauldron on the burner and stretched his pain ridden arms. A snicker from behind him caught his attention and he turned to see two of his watchers giggling under their breath, with a look of confusion he glared at them. One of the two burst out in laughter and pointed to the staircase. Laying about 7 steps from the bottom was Mygnon's companion moaning and writhing on the rock hewn stairs, calling to his gods. The watcher then collected his laughter and pointing to Mygnon said,"not a drop," the two both were cracking with laughter, "You are not to spill a drop or we are going to give you a taste of the whip." An evil grin crossed the one watchers face as he uncoiled a length of leather. The other pulled a whip from his hip and let the tip hit the dusty floor of the hot room. As the sound of the water filling the cauldron began to pitch higher, Mygnon knew the pot was almost full, with a few heaving breaths and a burning death stare from his cold blue eyes, he turned and gripped the sides of the pot and without any help, he pulled it from the fire and began his assent up the stairs. The Lord King's men were shocked to the point of gaping jaws when he returned and placed the massive bowl on the fire, awaiting the refill.

"Those whips are going to mold in this wet hot air," He says looking at the overseers and with a snort he turns to grab the filled bowl and continue his task through the night, solo.

The Sauna had never been this hot before and the concubines in Lord King Artos' stable had been relishing in the steam and the boiling hot baths all evening. There were 3 rooms that were fed from a single source of hot water. Up until this point the baths were lukewarm and the sauna was a bit of a joke to the ladies in the harem. Their conversations would be full on biting comments about how "Great Lord King Artos can't even keep his bath warm" Or that the sauna was best suited for a prayer room and not a true northern sauna. But tonight was different; the wooden doors were sticking in their frames, swollen with moisture from the steam. The baths were so hot the women were red from the neck down after lounging in the waters. Several of the younger concubines were huddled together in the sauna talking amongst themselves about their secret desires and the fighting men that would at times be allowed a visit to their chambers. Most of the females were gifts to the Lord King or taken in raids by Artos' men and delivered to their king. The women had an easy time in their captivity and with the occasional visit from a man to see to their needs, they all lived together peacefully. Artos was ageing and with the stresses of time and drink he was in no position to please the women as they needed so he would bribe a few of his fighters to be his surrogate in the concubine's bed. This arrangement seemed to work for everyone involved.

As the night dragged on only a few of the girls remained in the baths as most had had their fill and returned to their quarters. After Mygnon was relieved of his hauling duties he was directed to a flat dry spot that would serve as his sleeping area. He was then left alone in the darkened bowels of the bathhouse. Before long he noticed that light from one of the baths was piercing the walls of his place of slumber. Upon further investigation he realized that he could see into the bath. His eyes caught sight of the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Long Black Hair passed her shoulders and ran down her back as she arched away from the wall of the bath. Her large breasts left the cover of the water and were dappled with droplets of the glorious warm liquid. His eyes swelled out of their sockets as he watched her stretch and yawn. After the stretch and yawn she swirled the water around with her hands and hummed a contented tune to herself as he watched on from his peep hole.

"Are you quite done yet, Eallon?" A youthful female voice rang out over the tranquil bath.

Ellon's vibrant green eyes snapped open and looked to the source of the interruption.

Her jet black hair was mostly hanging behind her yet a few heavy wet strands curled down from her forehead and beside her right eye. "It's so wonderful! I want to stay in this water forever," She replied. "The water has never been this hot, Artos must have gotten new slaves to haul the water cauldron because this is like a dream…" Her smile peaked at her rosy cheeks, looking like a feline with a fresh kill.

"Artos has called the Euniqes to his chambers and they are clearing the sauna and the baths," came the voice.

"Well if that be, I will surrender this wondrous bath until tomorrow. If the waters are cold again after this, he will have to deal with my dark side, he will." Eallon said with a pout.

Watching the raven haired beauty exit the room sized tub gave Mygnon fodder for dreams to come for years. She was unlike any female he'd ever seen before. As she stepped out of the still steaming waters he watched every drop run the length of her body. Every curve, every dimple, every follicle, had his undivided attention. This was the woman he had waited his entire life to meet.

"If she likes hot water, I will give her exactly what she wants…" He whispered to himself as Eallon wrapped herself in a robe and left his field of view. He soon rolled over in his bedding and went to sleep, thinking of the vision of beauty he was lucky enough to see in all of her nudity.

The Rocking of the Ravens brought Thanon into the world of the living, and when the fog cleared his sleepy eyes he saw Masha had the birds lined up and was tossing them scraps of food she had been preparing.

"They are quite smart, " she said looking over her shoulder towards him.

"Yeah, they have helped us out several times," he croaked a response, his head heavy and his mouth completely dry from the drink.

"I think they need names, we have been playing games for meat scraps and I see that they are completely different in their approach to solving problems. The one with the White Chest seems to have the ability to reason, I will call him Dumal. Your bird has a wonderful memory so I will call him Razum. They are perfect companions for two young adventurers, one can think and the other can remember…" She laughed to herself as she said, and then pitched more meat to the birds.

Thanon had no recollection of his dreams last night and that to his knowledge was a first for him, it must have been the spirits. As he gathered himself for the day Masha told him of their chores for the day and that they would start looking through her old magic scrolls to try to get an idea of where these demon wolves had come from. "The Magic is not of this realm, but I do not know everything, we shall see." They sat and ate a large meal with the ravens looking over Thanon's shoulder. "Later today we will go to the fighting barracks and see about your friend, I am sure he is in good company, Most of the warriors here are from other lands and they tend to get on well with each other.

"You don't know Mygnon, there may be a reason there are two birds here." He chuckled taking a bite of hearty bread.

"As I said, I don't know everything," she arched an eyebrow with the reply

After several hours of collecting herbs from local growers and gathering other magical items from Masha's contacts in the village, she decided to take Thanon to find his mate in the barracks. The well worn path to the hall of warriors was smooth and hardened by years of footsteps. The morning shadows were growing short in the mid day and the weak sun was doing its best to warm the pair as they made haste to meet Mygnon. At the door of the barrack, the pair was met by a group of children wrestling in the door way. They were soon shooed away by an enormous Brythunian. Massive in build the man had tight curly hair cascading down his shoulders, a thick beard covered his jowls and what looked like a complete cow's hide covered his upper body. The hide had been worked into a design that looked like knots in a circle on his chest. His arms decked out with leather gloves and matching arm braces. As he addressed the Wotan he crossed the meaty arms across that barrel of a chest.

"Where is Mygnon?" Masha asked the guardian of the barrack.

"Looks like you're boy got into some trouble; he will be serving Artos' baths for a few days. I 'ear he is doing a fine job of it." Smirked the, pig eyed, bearded man. His stink preceded him and Masha was not too inclined to hang around for more details.

"Then to the baths it is," She said hiding her voice with a haggard rasp. The ash she painted the wrinkles on her face with was mixed with a small amount of egg to give it the ability to stick to her natural features and not give her true age, or appearance away. Though she had much respect for Lord King Artos she was not always very agreeable to the men in his employ, she was correct, most were from other parts of the world but that was also a warning for a shamaness with youth on her side. One of his fighting men could be hard to fend off if they took a shine to her. As the village Wotan she held some esteem but was not going to allow anything to upset that balance. Her place was in her home cooking up herbal remedies and working over protection spells for the king, not plying around with the fighting men. As the pair left the barracks Masha pointed out several of the buildings Thanon would need to know about as her assistant in finding the root of the evil they would be searching for. Some were herb growers some butchers others mushroom hunters, but all had a specialty that could come into play. She moved fast and never looked back so if he were cut off from her he would have to scramble to catch up, and her tales and descriptions were not repeated. Soon they faced the front doors of the Lord King's house.

Thanon recognized the Huge Brythunian that had escorted him to Masha's hut yesterday. His huge hairy arms crossed his chest as he stood statue still in front of the door, his flat nose filled with air as he noticed the pair approach. He had never liked the Wotan and with this strange boy in tow they were a pair to behold indeed. He gave the two a stern look and after a quick exchange of words allowed Masha and Thanon entry to the king's home. Again they were back in the dank darkness of Artos' public hall.

The few courtesans in the room lounged on the pillows in the far corner of the hall next to the hearth, an elaborate rug from Turan beneath them. They were smoking something Thanon was not familiar with and they looked to be half asleep. Masha strode to the dais that held Atro's throne. Currently it was vacant but she knew from the voices coming from behind the immense chair that the king was close at hand. The King soon rounded the carved arm rests of the great throne and was followed by two women of about his age, they seemed to be bickering with the king. As he saw Masha his scowl flipped over and his mouth twisted into a smile.

"Wotan, thank the gods…" He exclaimed. "I am in need of some news of your findings. My wives are not giving me one inch to breath and I feel a day on the hunt would be good for this old king."

"I have not begun to understand the information this boy has delivered me," Thanon shot her a confused look. "_Boy" he thought, huh._

"With the wealth of information I have been given it might be a few days for he and I to scour all of our ancient scrolls to find some answers. There is very strange magic involved and I dare say it is not the magic of men." Artos cocked an eyebrow; he was not pleased by her response.

"Not of men? Then who? What else can use magic?" He was not fond of being puzzled. Before he could start again on of the women who had followed him into the chamber cut him off.

"They are very happy with the changes you have made to the baths and I, we, agree the young man should continue to serve as water barer for us!" Her aging face pinched in a look of confident authority.

"Now you know he is only there to hamper some of his fire, my wife, and he is best used in the service of fighting the evil that assails my kingdom and not drawing bath water." He gave a hrumph as he replied to the wife.

"Remember that the girls in the harem will be easier to deal with if they are happy, and they will be less inclined to tell others of your…" She looked down at his crotch, "lack of abilities." She immediately began laughing and the two women linked arms and walked back around the throne giggling like they were mere children.

Artos was not amused; he craned his head around the high back of the throne to see that the women were indeed gone before he returned his gaze to Masha.

"Most men are cursed with a wife, I am cursed with 17 of them… and those two are the reason I long to ride the hillsides and find peace in letting the blood of these fowl wolves we have become all too familiar with."

"I can imagine, the only curse that could be worse would be to have that many husbands.." Masha cut a slight grin at the lord king as she retorted.

His laughter filled the hall, startling the group smoking by the hearth.

"How is it we know so little of these beasts and what makes them so hard for fighting men to kill but easy prey for this boy and his muscle bound friend?"

_Boy, again with the word boy…_ Thanon shifted his feet uncomfortably as he thought

"I know nothing of what Thanon has shown me, these eyes are not Amber but they look like it, their texture is not like anything I have felt and within the design, well you have seen it, it is not from our region if it is human at all. Even your exotic rugs and tapestries do not have such intricate patterns on them. I will be going over all of my magic scrolls tonight and the morrow to see if I can get some idea of what these are made of. Thanon has told me much of his experiences and I will ask my fellow shaman and the Warlocks in the marsh if they are familiar with any of this. It would be good to have Mygnon at our side to help relay the stories to all involved." As she finished Artos shifted his weight in the chair.

"You have just heard that he is wanted to be a bath servant to keep my wenches bathing in hot water, this choice of punishment for him may haunt my master at arms in the future. I will talk with my wives to see if we cannot work out a plan to have him in their service and yours as well." He nodded like he was pleased with his new thought on the subject.

We will take our leave sir, and get back to our research hastily, " Masha said with a bow.

"Your friend will be welcome to return before the darkness falls tonight to fix my roof, his bird made a fair hole in the roof if you haven't heard." He gave a stern look towards Thanon.

"I had heard, your majesty and he will be here before dark to remedy the problem. Thank you."

Masha and Thanon both bowed low and walked out of the king's hall. They were in conversation as they passed the door keeper and were back in the smell and cold of the outside.

"These Last two days have been the best I've had here since leaving my home. I can get lost in the heat of the water and the steam clears that horrible stench of the city from my nose. This is now the best part of being one of King Artos' wives." Eallon said swirling the heated water around her partially submerged body.

"What was the best part before this," her companion asked.

She bent her first finger on her right hand and began to giggle "His lack of backbone I'll say.."

The two embraced in a laugh while lounging in the steamy waters of the bath. Several other wives were bathing in the same room and their conversations were equally filled with bliss, the water was so hot most would forget to get out every few hours, making their skin red and wrinkled as an old crone.

Behind the walls of the bath house the youth was hauling water up the stairs at a feverous pace. Up and down the stairs with not a drop being sacrificed to the haste. Mygnon was intentionally keeping the waters hot so that the women would stay in the rooms he tended and be there when he was allowed to take his evening rest. Thinking of the raven haired beauty was all he could keep his mind on. He had seen women in various stages of undress since his youth but this was the first time he was moved as he was. Her beauty was piercing, and her pitch black hair and alabaster skin held him captive in his mind. Every step up the stairs was another replay of watching her in the bath. Every step down the stair was another step closer to being in his resting spot and hopefully looking down upon her beauty.

He had so many daydreams about her he lost track of the day and soon was being fed his evening supper. As he sat in his darkened hole he noshed on the fatty meat he was fed and peered through the peep hole he had found. She was not there!

He searched in vain and at one point even dropped his plate causing a racket that could be heard on both sides of the wall.

Eallon had heard the crashing of what sounded like a metal plate and a knife just above her head. As she was leaning against the wall dipping her feet in the pool, allowing her body temperature to lower. She could also feel the vibrations of the calamity on her bare back. She looked up and soon spotted a small hole in the wall just above her head. She had been in these baths since arriving at Copori and had never spotted the imperfection. The wood work was some of the finest in the kingdom and was surprised to see the hole. She turned and stood up on the edge of the pool. As she reached her full height she peered into the hole and was staring into a glacial blue eye!

"Woah," So startled, she fell back into the water.

The sound of a crashing plate was heard again across the baths. A quite murmur was heard across the baths and sauna. It was a long time before there was so much activity in the baths and the women loved every minute.

"We have to keep him every day, " one of the older wives told her companion, "Artos will sleep with his hounds if not, "She smiled knowingly.

Masha and Thanon left the company of the king, she was moving faster than before. As Thanon caught up to her, he asked, "Where are we going?"

"Let's gather our recourses and craft some magic. This will be a chance for you to see the true abilities of a Wotan. Take these coins to the Herbalist you visited this morn. Give them to him and return to my house with haste." She barked at the youth. He dutifully obeyed.

As the day began to wane Thanon had completed his task and was hurrying to get back to Masha's house. As he rounded the last corner he saw a group of men and women in all different types of dress. Some looked to be northern others from the desert and some the plains. Several shouldered bag pipes and others drums and all seemed to have a great familiarity with each other. As he approached Masha walked out of the house dressed in a green felt dress with her hair pulled back and a golden band ran across her forehead. Seemingly as one they all began to follow her. She motioned to Thanon to follow them as they made their way towards the gate that leaves the city.

As they left the walls of Copori the trees seemed to engulf them immediately, and cover them from the soft light of the setting sun. In the days Thanon had been in town he had not been outside of the walls. Seeing the dense forest again gave him a renewed sense of freedom he had not felt in quite some time. Their walk took them through hill and dale, massive rock outcroppings, and flowing rivers greeted them as the trekked the land. As the sun made its last attempt to light their world Masha had stopped and seemed content with their location. As a unit the band of followers fanned out and made a circle around her. One surly looking fellow dropped a hide bag at her feet and returned to the circle.

Digging through the contents of the bag, Masha pulled out her Wolf's pelt and a hand drum larger than her head. It was bound with brown leather and there was a small mallet that she retrieved from the sack to go with it. She threw the pelt across her shoulders and took the drum and mallet in hand. Within a few moments a lonely cry of a wolf echoed through the forest and the pipers began to play, Masha started to bang on the drum and soon all of the musicians joined in a cacophony of eclectic sounds. From strings to pipes and other drums, they all joined in on the melody. Masha's song went from a beautiful bird song to a deep growl instantly and the song gained in intensity. Soon she began to spin in a circle banging on the drum and inciting the musicians to increase the tempo of the song. All at once they all stopped save for the bag pipes, Masha began to sing in a whisper and then the drums kicked in again. When her song began to emit from her lower body a brilliant blue light emitted from her mouth and swirled around her head. As the song began to erupt into a rapturous beat with all the instruments playing to their structural ability the light grew more and more intense, it soon engulfed the band of musician with its blue light. Masha was spinning at a rate that made Thanon's eyes blurry. At once she stopped spinning and walked to Thanon. She held out her hand and without a word he knew to hand her the amber eyes of the wolf. After she took the magical orbs she seemed to float back to the center of the circle and as the music continued she held the eyes in each hand and raised them up into the swirling light. Her eyes snapped open and to Thanon they looked like they are nothing but white, no pupil or iris only milky white that reflected the blue aura that surrounded her. She stood completely still, then raised each hand touching the eyes together over her head, as they touched the Blue Light was whisked away in a column that ripped through the darkened tree canopy. The music stopped.

She looked at Thanon and said, "I know what it is, we must go!"

She shrugged off the wolf's pelt that was draped across her shoulder and handed the amber eyes to Thanon and she walked out of the circle of musicians. All of the players sat quietly holding their instruments in their laps or on their shoulders. Each looked around the circle approvingly as if satisfied that they had played well. Masha looked back over her shoulder and nodded at the players. Thanon was quick to follow her through the darkness. As the pair crested a small hill and was out of sight of the musicians, they all began to dematerialize, still looking around and nodding, they all vanished into the thin winter air.


End file.
